Journalism thread: For a while now (pre-covid too) there's been some mixing of anger over what's happening & the reporting of that happening. Some aim anger at those revealing, through investigation, an unpleasant issue, rather than at the unpleasant issue itself 1

In ordinary times journalists shrug that off as part of a new, unpleasant side issue of the job. Journalism's role isn't to be popular but to reveal and inform, and that can unearth difficult things. Reporting exposes what powerful systems want kept secret. It's not cuddly 2

But these aren't normal times & now the impulse to blame journalists/journalism for tough facts, failures of systems meant to protect us & the mercilessness of a virus & our lack of prep for it isn't just unpleasant, it can be harmful to the people casting the blame. And others 3

Journalists don't look away no matter how tired, anxious, stressed etc they may be. It's their job to look into the science, data, human toll, political steps and missteps. They're immersed as few are because it is their job to help all understand it as much as possible 4

This won't be perfect. Humans aren't. Science and knowledge is evolving, as is the political and human response. Also because there is so much to cover, and a shrinking pool of journalists to cover it. First drafts are never perfect and reporting is a first draft of events 5

But journalists report things with their name on them. Publications publish under its name. Mistakes when they happen are mortifying & corrected as quickly as possible. We try to make it clear what we don't know as well as what we do. We owe that to readers & ourselves. 6

We also owe it to all to do what we can to learn what's happening, even when those things are unpleasant. To equate the reporting of these happenings with the existence of them, to blame a general or specific media instead of the actual happening, is not just a side issue now 7

It can be a health issue/safety issue, impacting decisions of governments & you and me. Reporting at best can lead to better outcomes, at worst allows transparency into the biggest health, financial story of our time. Reading widely helps - few outlets have resources to do all 8

Blaming the messenger is time-honoured, around since at least Sophocles, also Shakespeare. August company. But now, we really want everyone to get through this pandemic as safely as possible, with as little cause to grieve as possible. So we report as thoroughly as possible 9

If you have a question you are interested in seeing covered, contact your favourite news outlet. Most are happy to hear about angles you would like covered. Many have frequent call-outs to that effect.
Thank you for reading.